Time Stands Still
by janie17
Summary: Tension the day after Valentine's Day leads to a surprising conversation between Jack and Ianto.


AN: I started this a couple months ago but the little plot bunnies in my mind had other ideas so it is just now getting finished. As you may have noticed, I am uploading a bunch of stuff fairly close together, but that is because for most of summer I didn't have good access to the internet, but I did get a lot of writing done.

Disclaimer: I own only the computer this is typed on, because RTD and the BBC refuse to sell me Jack and Ianto. They won't even part with Owen! Major bummer.

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Jack sighed, watching as Ianto placed each team members coffee at their workstation. His hope to be given some was in vain as the young man, for the second time that morning, resolutely ignored him.

"Jack, what did you do to the tea boy? He's been in a right snit all morning," snarked Owen.

"To tell you the truth, Owen, I really don't know." He sighed again, uncrossing his arms to lean against the railing. "I mean, last night was—,"

"Whoa," Owen interrupted. "Hold it right there. I really don't need to hear about you two shagging!"

"So not where that was going."

The doctor barked a laugh. "That's always where you're stories are going."

"Don't you have work to do?" Jack snapped. "Or am I just paying you for the fun of it?"

"All right, I'll leave you alone. Geez. I'll go reorganise the scalpels or something." Owen rolled his eyes, moving towards the Autopsy Bay. Walking past Ianto, he muttered, "Don't see what he could've done that was so bad it is worth making us all suffer, especially with sub-par coffee."

Slamming the file he held onto the desk before him, Ianto spun around towards Owen. "Take it back," he growled, eyes burning.

"What?" Owen groaned.

"There is nothing 'sub-par' about my coffee and you know it. So, Take. It. Back."

"Now listen here, tea boy," Owen started, only to be cut off.

"Ianto! My office. Now," Jack growled from above. "And bring me a goddamn coffee while you're at it." He watched as the young man sulked his way over to the coffee maker and brewed the coffee. He carried two mugs up to Jack's office.

"Sir," he said placing one mug down on the desk, before taking a sip from the other. "You wanted to see me?"

Jack's eyes trailed over Ianto's suit-clad body, watching as he wrapped an arm around his waist, suddenly uneasy under the other man's gaze. "Sit down and close the door," he said. Ianto was surprised at the softness of his tone compared to when he had been summoned. He complied with the request, perching lightly on the edge of his seat.

"Jack?" he asked when the older man made no effort to speak.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Why would you think that?" Ianto questioned honestly.

Jack snorted. "Because," he snapped, "you've sure been acting like it all morning. And I don't know, I thought we had a really good night, last night. I know it's not our normal sort of thing, but, seeing as it was a holiday, I thought you'd like doing something a little more romantic than a quick shag in the archives. Apparently I was wrong." Ianto looked down at his lap, avoiding the other man's eyes. "So I was wrong. Fine. It's whatever." Jack's harsh tone wavered, betraying the hurt it masked. "That was all I had to say, so you're dismissed. Thanks for the coffee."

Instead of standing to leave, Ianto remained seated, settling further back into his chair. He covered his face with his free hand, groaning softly. "I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly.

"Don't be. I said it was fine. I shouldn't have made us into something we apparently aren't," the older man said firmly.

"Jack. That's not what I'm sorry for," Ianto stated, looking up at him, chagrined.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Then what are you sorry for, Ianto?" Jack asked.

"I panicked." Jack raised his eyebrows, urging him to continue. "Last night was really perfect. I mean, dinner—something other than take out for once—and flowers, being seen in public together. It was really perfect. And…" he trailed off, a frown settling on his face.

"And what?" Jack prompted.

Ianto sighed. "And I panicked. I guess I've just gotten so used to skulking around this place while the others are gone, that it felt a little too much like a fantasy."

Jack's brows furrowed. "Oh," he said; that one syllable wrapped in layers of conflicting emotion. It was, however, regret that won out in his next words. "I don't treat you very well, do I?"

"No worse than I'd expect."

"Ianto!"

"Jack," he said firmly, interrupting the older man. "I get it. I'm the boss' part time shag. I knew that at the start of this."

"You are so much more to me and you know it!"

"How could I know that?" he said sadly. "You've never said."

"I thought you knew," said the older man quietly. "You always know everything else, what needs to be done around here, whose turn it is for feeding the guests, when I need my jacket."

"It's my job to know that."

"Fine. But what about the other stuff? The personal stuff. Like when I need a kiss, or someone to talk to, or to let off some steam." Jack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Cause that isn't in your contract, otherwise I would have hired a PA sooner."

Ianto smiled. "I'm not your PA," he replied.

"Funny, because you do a real good impression of one. But all joking aside, I thought you already knew what you mean to me."

"Tell me. I won't know unless you tell me." Ianto urged, leaning forward towards the older man seated across the desk from him. Jack leaned forward simultaneously, extending his hand to him. Ianto lightly intertwined it with his own.

"I don't know if I can," Jack said, gripping the young man's hand tighter as he tried to pull away. "Wait." Ianto stilled. "What I meant to say is that there are no words in any language I know that can adequately express how I feel. You mean more to me than anyone I have ever known."

"You've known a lot of people," Ianto interjected, somewhat sceptically.

Jack stood, briefly letting go of the younger man's hand as he walked around the desk. He slid in front of Ianto, leaning the back of his legs on the desk, and pulled him up and into an embrace. "I've known a lot of people," he whispered into his ear, "but my point still stands." He pulled away to look into the younger man's eyes, one hand resting on his cheek, the other at his waist.

"When I'm with you it's as if the world has stopped turning. Time stands still. And, in all honesty, it's a little frightening. In all the years of my life I have never felt this way before. I've been in love, a few times at least, but it doesn't compare to what you make me feel. I need you more than anything in the universe. More than I could ever say, which doesn't even begin to compete with how much I need you always. I want you there with me all moments of the day. When we are apart it feels as if you take a part of me with you. A vital part that allows me to breathe. You mean everything to me, Ianto Jones."

The younger man was dumbstruck, unable to respond. His mouth hung slightly open as he stared dumbly at his boss and lover. "I…I…" he stuttered out before sighing softly. "I don't know what to say. That was," he paused for a moment, swallowing hard against the thick feeling in his throat. "Jack, that was beautiful. Honestly." Jack shrugged in response, giving him a sheepish grin. His speech had stripped him of his normal bravado and at that moment he was not the fearless Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood leader and walking innuendo, he was simply Jack, a man who was a little concerned he had come on too strong to the love of his life.

"God," Ianto chuckled, "I feel like anything I could possibly say to that would just pale in comparison."

"You could always say I'm not just a silly old romantic and that what you feel is even possibly in the realm of similarity." Jack said hopefully, both hands now resting comfortably on the younger man's hips. He ran his thumb along the waist band of his trousers slowly. "I'd understand if you didn't though. That was kind of a lot. And we haven't been together that long. Actually we've only been on one real date so I'm not even sure if this counts as 'together.' But…yeah."

Ianto smiled fondly. "I can definitely say that what I feel is in the realm of similarity, though I'm not sure if I could explain it as poetically as you, Jack." The older man smiled back, moving to speak, but was beat to it. "And, my feelings aside, you are still just a silly old romantic."

Jack chuckled. "Gee thanks," he said rolling his eyes. The younger man smirked. "Come here, you idjit." He pulled him closer by the hips, so that their bodies were flush against the other's, and kissed him firmly.

Pulling away slightly, Ianto asked, "Idjit?"

"Yes," Jack replied, punctuating it with another kiss. "It means 'person-who-withholds-coffee-even-though-I-didn't- screw-up-this-time'."

"Sure it does, Jack."

"What was that, by the way? The withholding coffee thing," Jack questioned as he loosened his grip on the other man and sat on the edge of the desk, not all that bothered to be crushing a few files underneath him.

Ianto sighed, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. "I told you, I panicked."

"Right. But how does that translate into punishing me for it? And in the worst way possible too."

"Really? The worst thing I can do to you is take away your caffeine fix?"

"Yes, and nice deflection. Answer the question, Ianto. Or, if you'd rather, you can explain why you panicked. I'd like to know that too." Jack crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I told you. I got nervous and panicked because it was different than what we normally do."

"Yes, and nice deflection. Answer the question, Ianto. Or, if you'd rather, you can explain why you panicked. I'd like to know that too." Jack crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I told you. I got nervous and panicked because it was different from what we normally do. I was worried that maybe last night was just a one-off thing because it was Valentine's Day and you'd wake up and realise that it wasn't the sort of thing you would want to do again. So instead of asking you like a normal person, I decided that being a twat was the thing to do because I'm an idiot." Ianto frowned, embarrassed at his own behaviour.

"You are not an idiot, Ianto. Far from it. You're a bright kid, which you'd realise if you stopped being so hard on yourself." The younger man shrugged dismissively, causing Jack to groan. "Seriously, we need to work on that self-esteem issue. You drive me crazy not realising how wonderful you are."

"My self-esteem is fine, thanks. We can't all go walking around with an ego bigger than London," he said with a scowl.

"So you think," Jack murmured, wrapping his arms around Ianto's waist and pulling him close.

"I'm sorry," the younger man muttered between kisses.

"You've already been forgiven. But you have to promise me something, Ianto."

"Hmm?"

Pulling back to look him in the eyes, Jack replied, "Next time you are nervous or scared, talk to me. Could you do that?" His lover nodded. "Good, because I care about you so much. I don't want something inconsequential to take away any moment of our time together."

Ianto attempted a smile, though it didn't quite meet his eyes. "You say that like we don't have all the time in the world. I'm right here, Jack. And this is where I plan to be for the foreseeable future."

"I know, I know." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face roughly. "Only, it's what lays after that that I am worried about." He grimaced slightly before shaking it off. "The kids have been awfully quiet down there while we were talking. Think I should be worried?" Jack flashed Ianto a cheesy grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Quiet means that Owen and Gwen aren't fighting, which is not a good sign. So yeah, I'd be worried."

"Know what would help? More coffee."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Of course, sir." Grabbing the mugs, he turned to exit the office but was stopped by hands at his waist. He was manhandled into turning back around, where he was then thoroughly kissed.

"Dinner tonight at eight, Rift willing? There's this new place I want to try," Jack asked, gazing at him hopefully.

Ianto smiled. Leaning in he gave Jack a chaste, almost-suitable-for-work kiss. "Rift willing, that sounds lovely. And if the Rift is not so generous, then I have more time to decide exactly what to say when my sister calls about me being seen on dates with a man, because there is no doubt in my mind that she will hear about it somehow."

Jack chuckled at the small scowl on his lover's lips. "You could always tell her yourself," he suggested.

"And tell her what? 'Hey Rhi, it's Ianto. Just wanted to let you know I've gone bender and I'm dating my boss. Give my love to the kids.' That would go over wonderfully, I'm sure," he drawled in response.

"Point taken." He peered out of the window to the lower level, seeing only Tosh at her station, unable to spot the other two. He sighed. "I better go check what's happening down there. And coffee will be ready when I'm back at my desk?" he said hopefully.

"Certainly," Ianto replied smoothly. He smiled to himself as the Captain puffed up his chest and put on his best 'I'm in charge' face before leaving the office.

Both men were glad to have finally sorted out what exactly their relationship was, and relieved to discover that feelings were in no way one-sided. And if Ianto had an extra spring in his step for the rest of the day, and Jack was more lenient with Gwen and Owen for leaving to start on an independent project (which he firmly believed was their euphemism for shagging during work hours) without running it by him than he should have been, well the rest of the team had to figure out why for themselves.

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A/n: Reviews are wonderful, so let me know what you thought!


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